Creativity and Imagination through Reading Aloud

Reading aloud to students leaves an impression for life-long reading and motivation for creative thinking.  There are endless opportunities to foster creativity, problem-solving, questioning, and critical thinking skills through reading aloud to students.  Interest, creativity, and visionary thinking became the focal points of the school wide read aloud with the book The Wild Robot by Peter Brown.

Throughout the month of March, Friendship Central School engaged students in a district wide reading of the novel, The Wild Robot in search of the answer to the question, “Can a robot learn to survive in the wilderness?”  Students listened to the school administrators, Judy May (superintendent), Chris Cornwell (K-12 principal), and Paul Gilbert (assistant principal) as they eloquently demonstrated fluent reading to the district.  Teachers, students, staff, cleaning personnel, and assistants participated as well.  This experience exposed students to the real-world problems of communication, learning to get along with others, respect, and empathy for all. 
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Research shows that reading aloud helps students wrestle with complex ideas in a safe environment.  Through literature, children begin to see themselves, other cultures, and communities.  They explore classic and universal concepts such as relationships with families and friends that help children understand the social fabric of the world in which they live.  (Gold, Gibson; nd).  Elementary students at Friendship CSD exemplified this learning through projects.  Several students, in partnership with their families, analyzed the main character by creating robots from loose parts.  Other students understood the story from the perspective of the setting and created replicas of their mental images of the story setting. 

​Along with the adventure through story, middle school students participated in a career exploration.  As a result of reading this novel, students showed an interest in robotics and how robots are changing the world. A representative from Keyence, Christopher Rickicki,  presented careers in robotics and answered questions about automation in factories.  Several students were inspired to learn more about technology and coding languages through this presentation. 

​Many conversations, activities, and fun learning experiences happen when we read aloud to students.  If you are interested in learning more about engaging in a district-wide read aloud, you can request information at www.readtothem.org
 
By, Michelle Rickicki, CA BOCES Professional Development